Settled a $600,000 lawsuit Tuesday with one of its own officers after they forced him into a psychiatric ward for several days against his will for turning whistle-blower on them.
NYPD officer Adrian Schoolcraft, who has been on unpaid suspension since 2008, will receive back pay, benefits and punitive damages.
Schoolcraft was suspended after he released recordings of NYPD sergeants continually directing its’ officers to stop people on the street, even without merit or probable cause that the individuals stopped had committed a crime.
The NYPD’s practices are a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment, which protects American citizens against illegal unwarranted search and seizure.
In addition to placing him on suspension, the NYPD arrested Schoolcraft from his residence and forcefully took him to a psychiatric ward at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center where he was left for days.
The arrest and mental hospitalization was ordered by Schoolcraft’s commanding officer, Steven Mauriello.
The suit alleged that the NYPD made a coordinated and concentrated effort to silence Schoolcraft after he released recordings of the Constitutional injustice. The settlement does not cover the suit against Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and doctors who treated Schoolcraft against his will.
NYPD street stops have quintupled during the “stop and frisk” era with complaints indicating police have put Black and Latino neighborhoods under siege.
In fact, Schoolcraft was stationed at the 81st Precinct, which covers a crowded multiracial population of low-income areas, filled with gentrification-infested housing projects.
A city spokesman released the following statement:
“We are pleased that we were able to reach a just and fair resolution of this dispute, the settlement should not be construed as an admission that the city or any city employee engaged in wrongdoing. We believe this settlement is in the best interests of the city.
Earlier this year, PINAC reported on Baltimore cop Joseph Crystal; Officer Crystal sued the Baltimore Police Department for $2.5 million for harassment and police misconduct.
